What this means
Fail2Ban and cPHulk are server-level tools. Steel Security reports what WordPress can safely observe, but it does not require elevated privileges or attempt to control those services.
The safest model is: server tool → root-managed reporter/exporter → sanitized JSON → Steel Security → WordPress admin UI.
Why it matters
Operators often need to know whether host-level protections appear present, active, stale, inaccessible, malformed, disabled, or unsupported without giving a plugin unsafe server power.
What Steel Security checks
Fail2Ban reporter availability, freshness, service state, and per-jail telemetry when a reporter is connected.
cPanel and cPHulk environmental indicators, plus cPHulk current-state telemetry when a root-managed reporter is connected.
Server-level limitations
A plugin running inside WordPress cannot prove everything about server-level protections.
Statuses such as `possible`, `not detected`, `unable to determine`, `stale`, `partial telemetry`, `disabled`, or `malformed` are intentionally cautious.
Free is the right place for current-state reporting. Pro is the right place for retained history, trends, alerting, and deeper operational workflows built on top of the same telemetry.